In a recent turn of events, the highly-publicized ransomware attack on the Wolverine Solutions Group’s (WSG) has now been linked to the infamous Trojan, Emotet. Since the WSG, a service provider for healthcare institutions located in Detroit, was ravaged by ransomware in the second half of 2018, one-by-one several of the affected clients of WSG revealed the infection in their systems. The unfortunate trend continued in 2019.
New reports indicate that the organization did proceed with the payment in exchange for ransomware removal. The latest findings explain the tricks and techniques used by these cybercriminals who are now known to use Emotet. Emotet is a notorious Trojan which is transmitted via conventional phishing in which emails are the primary medium for distribution purposes.
The revelation that it was Emotet came from the horse’s mouth—the president of the WSG, Darryl English unveiled the fact to the local news outlets.
Emotet boasts fearsome reputation in the financial circles because of its involvement against the exploitation of banking accounts. The Trojan is known well for its role as a dropper in a wide slew of cyberattacks.
Interestingly, the admission from WSG about the use of Emotet in its ransomware attack is not new for many. A few months, ago there were some cybersecurity agencies which already implicated Emotet in the Ryuk attacks.
A 2019 report suggested that in this year, Emotet will break the shackles. This means that it will spread its wings and attack other industries like manufacturing, education, government, and education. The report explained that it may have been a mere banking Trojan, however, it has undergone several changes and modifications in the past few years which has solidified its status as a loader for multiple ransomware.
To support their view, the report mentioned some major ransomware attacks where Emotet was at the center of the deception. There is a reason that is so widely sought out. For ransomware perpetrators, the payload delivery is one of the most crucial stages of the attack which allows them to enter the system of a victim and lock their files in exchange for ransomware removal. Due to the significance of this stage, they continuously look for the best possible solutions. As a result, Emotet received widespread recognition among hackers. Emotet’s reputation relied on the fact that it targeted a huge segment of online users where its social engineering techniques were exemplary and ranked among the best.
According to the report, it is not the casual PC user who has to be careful about ransomware attacks, but the businesses for which the combination of ransomware and Trojan raises an alarm.
